Gender export gap in Scotland: research

Appendix 5: Case studies

Case study 1: Alexandra Feechan - FINDRA

FINDRA CLOTHING

Alexandra Feechan

Founder & CEO

Galashiels

Company description

FINDRA Clothing is a founder-led business established in December 2014 by Alex Feechan, a Scottish fashion designer and outdoor enthusiast. Alex Feechan has 25 years of experience designing for high-end luxury fashion brands worldwide. Alex's expertise is an advantage that has allowed her to develop a product with high-quality design, fabric, fit, and style. Her mountain biking weekend adventures in the hills of the Tweed Valley inspired her to create her women's outdoor clothing brand. FINDRA Clothing is an innovative company that designs and retails stylish, versatile, sustainable activewear for women. They contribute to and reinvest in their community and the planet by upholding a sustainable business model and the upcoming FINDRA foundation.

Opportunities and challenges to growth

FINDRA clothing has gained a positive reputation through social media, which has allowed online orders from countries all over the world. Support provided by Scottish Enterprise in the start-up phase enabled Alex to attend European Trade shows to get an insight into the market and on a second “learning journey” participate in the Trade Show Euro Bike which proved crucial for their growth and the creation of new business opportunities:

“The travel expenses and hotel costs were all covered as part of the learning journey, which was very helpful and made it possible to visit the event. I had the opportunity to showcase my products and meet with potential buyers and the press. It was a great opportunity to gain feedback before launching the brand and products to market.”

Since launching her business in December 2014 Alex has grown online sales year on year seeing a positive increase each year in export sales via their online brand e-commerce platform.

However, Brexit immediately negatively impacted these sales, seeing them stop almost overnight. Issues in getting products directly to the customer, expensive customs charges, risk of returns, and the need for clarity about the new regulations and norms to export. These constraints have shrunk their sales in markets such as Germany, France, and some Scandinavian countries.

Exporting information and the future

FINDRA clothing has continuously grown, broadening its product range while upholding its dedication to slow fashion and creating an inspiring brand and community focused on an active lifestyle. The company's main markets have been Germany, France, Spain, and Scandinavian countries. Alex would like to continue growing in Germany and open opportunities in the Scandinavian markets.

Case study 2: Poonam Gupta - PG Paper Ltd

PG PAPER COMPANY LTD

Poonam Gupta

Chief Executive Officer & Founder

Greenock

Company description

PG Paper Company LTD is one of the largest trading companies in Scotland specialising in the paper industry. They offer a variety of papers, including graphical, packaging, and specialty grades, sourced from their partner mills around the globe. The company provides tailored solutions to meet their customers' paper needs through their strategically located warehousing facilities worldwide.

They are focused on win-win negotiations with their partners and customers. Their international experience has allowed them to gain expertise in local markets, develop multilingual skills, and knowledge of the different paper grades they supply. These characteristics have enabled their capabilities to offer innovative products to their customers across different markets.

Opportunities and challenges to growth

When Poonam arrived in Scotland, she could not secure a job because employers claimed she was overqualified or lacked experience working in the UK. The lack of opportunities for immigrants led her to forge her own path. As a visionary, Poonam delved into recycling and participated in training courses offered by Business Gateway and Scottish Enterprise to learn how to establish her own business. She created a company oriented to export to India without doing any local sales. She said: “I remember I did two courses; one was in logistics and one was in finance which was either conducted by Business Gateway or Scottish Enterprise in Glasgow… That really helped me to understand a little bit more and then I started researching a lot… creating a database of the buyers and the suppliers. And I started cold calling, sending them emails and that's when I think there was an Italian, very large Italian manufacturer. I still do business with them on and off and I got my first deal through them.”

In 2005, she encountered a significant challenge in India, which served as a turning point, prompting her to consider diversifying her export markets. She was starting to receive some inquiries from other countries, and she was conducting market research to continue growing internationally. She diversified her sales and expanded into other countries by selling to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and China.

Exporting information and the future

PG Paper Company LTD was established to have a presence in the international market from the very beginning in 2003. It currently operates in over 60 countries, spanning all continents. Its strategic global warehousing facilities allow for flexibility in collecting and delivering products internationally. PG Paper Company Ltd boasts a competitive advantage due to its high levels of logistical competency.

Case study 3: Kirsty Lunn - MOLKE

MOLKE

Kirsty Lunn

Founder and Creative Director

Perthshire

Company description

Molke is a Scottish manufacturer and retailer of fun, non-wired underwear and swimwear. They believe people of all shapes and sizes deserve to be catered for and have underwear that is comfortable, fits well and supports. They are an ethical, honest and focused on celebrating all bodies. They also pride themselves in offering sustainable products that are designed and made to last. Molke HQ is in Perthshire and the majority of all their products are made in their factory with 20 local employees.

Opportunities and challenges to growth

The opportunities to manufacture locally and employ local people has been key to the ethos of the business and its growth. MOLKE’s local enterprise support agency GrowBiz has been fantastic and been with them from day one. Without GrowBiz Kirsty has argued that although she would have still done what she did because of her passion and drive, she credits GrowBiz in fundamentally helping her every step of the way and is still in touch with the agency.

Growth and internationalisation came with its challenges for Kirsty, such as not being taken seriously when she first started the business and being told that her business was “too niche to be popular.” She feels that many men do not understand her business, and this has caused issues in trying to secure support and funding because “when you go for funding it's predominantly men on the board.” Being account managed with Scottish Enterprise has been fantastic and helped secure funding, and they are in talks at the moment for funding to internationalise.

Brexit was a huge setback for the organisation since they lost European customers because they did not want to pay taxes. It caused massive increases in their costs, fabric, etc. as they use organic cotton fabric, and you cannot grow cotton in Scotland. MOLKE must import and whilst they manufacture most things themselves, they do rely on some suppliers.

COVID was also a challenge for the company but not as much as they anticipated as they manufacture their own goods. But COVID has led them into scaling up and now actively seeking to enter international markets.

Exporting information and the future

MOLKE exports across the globe, dominantly the UK but sales in the US and all over the world. There are plans to grow internationally which involves increasing their exports to the US, Canada and Australia. They plan on tripling their international exports in the next 12 months. Kirsty has said: “we’ve always had customers overseas because the nature of our products and size range, women can't get them anywhere else…Since COVID actually a lot more people have moved into our market and some big brands have actually attempted to copy us, which I think is flattering, and it's inevitable in the industry, it happens.”

Case study 4: Marie Owen - LS Productions

LS PRODUCTIONS

Marie Owen

Founder & CEO

Edinburgh

Company description

LS Productions is a production company recognised with Grammy nominations and BRIT and BAFTA awards in various fields like film & TV, commercials, fashion, and sports campaigns. This company was founded in Scotland in 2006 by Marie Owen at her kitchen table. The company started to grow in 2007 when they launched their first website. LS Productions expanded their service offering and consolidated a sales and marketing team that allowed them to pivot their business in 2013 to commercial production. Then, they expanded locally by opening offices in London and Manchester.

Having produced several TV episodes, including those featuring ‘Bear Grylls’ and ‘The Bachelorette’, they shifted their focus to the realm of Film & TV. In 2019, They offered their services for the UK segments in two feature films by Steven Soderbergh: ‘The Laundromat’ and ‘Let Them All Talk.’

Opportunities and challenges to growth

The major challenges that Marie has faced as CEO of a service company in the creative industry have been capitalising on opportunities to grow and competing with other companies and countries. However, Marie has been successful in running her company due to her reputation and customer centricity. As Karen André (Sales and Marketing Director) said: “Clients will say they can tell that this business is run by women because we put a lot of effort into a lot of the little things that make a big difference… That attention, unvalued sometimes, can actually make such a difference to the client experience we've given. I think our returning client stats just now are about 45%, which is huge in our project-based industry.”

Exporting information and the future

Marie started to export organically in 2009. LS Productions currently has international customers in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, China, and Sweden. The company has a solid international marketing strategy to continue growing in markets in Eastern Europe and Malta.

LS Productions aims to continue attracting big brands and companies to Scotland to showcase the country’s stunning scenery, support local business communities, and promote Scotland and the UK to the world. This would continue bringing significant benefits to local businesses and the local supply chain involved in LS Productions’ projects.

Case study 5: Shona Young – Nutscene Twines Ltd

Nutscene Twines Ltd

Shona Young

CEO

Dundee

Company description

Nutscene Twines Ltd is a traditional manufacturing company that has been since the early 1920s. They are recognised for producing authentic jute products. The most important business activity has been making twine for the gardens. They are recognised for using ethically sourced materials from sustainable crops. Jute is especially notable for its environmental benefits. It thrives on rainwater, grows rapidly, can be cultivated on wastelands, and enhances soil quality for subsequent crops. Furthermore, it helps reduce CO2 levels.

Shona started in the business as an Office Manager, then took over production, followed by sales, became the General Manager, and at the end she ended up buying the company in 2002.

Opportunities and challenges to growth

When Nutscene Twines Ltd was bought by Shona, the business was already involved in the international markets such as Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and France. They have historical archives of when the company was trading internationally during the war.

Despite being internationally recognised by larger retailers in the UK market, cheaper imports from China caused them to lose a significant share of the local market. Shona decided to change her brand strategy and pulled out of the big wholesale markets and going direct to retail, working with distributors both locally and internationally. She has always been excited about exporting her products, she said:

“The company was already exporting to places like France, Norway, Sweden, and a bit to Germany. So, it was already involved in a bit of export and certainly Ireland. So, as part of my journey to develop and grow the business, I got quite excited about the export markets for a number of reasons. Because I knew that there was a demand for our product, because we started to make specific product and work with colours which people really liked. So, then it entered into a craft market as well.”

Shona had the opportunity to participate in a trade show in Japan, where she successfully obtained significant business deals in 2005. However, they have lost market in this country because the economic recession after COVID. Interestingly, they have seen their exports growth to 58% of their trade turnover. They see opportunities for continuing to expand to all countries in Europe despite losing an important customer in Germany because of Brexit.

Exporting information and the future

More than 50% of Nutscene Twines Ltd sales are oriented toward the international market. They are currently exporting to 26 countries. The most important markets in which they are exporting include United States, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. The European Union is an important market for them to continue expanding overseas.